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HOW TO GET FREE TUITION FOR ALL STUDENTS

This topic contains 0 replies, has 1 voice, and was last updated by  Michael Casco 9 years, 4 months ago.

  • HOW TO GET FREE TUITION FOR ALL STUDENTS

    Started by Michael Casco

    Hello,

    First and foremost, I would like to congratulate you, Mr. Abbott, with the turnout of this recent election. I voted for you because i’ve had the privilege of seeing all of your gubernatorial debates with Wendy Davis and I really appreciated the quality of your vision.

    With that being said, my name is Michael and I am 23 years old. As a current full-time student i’ve really appreciated the resources that were available to me when I was in need of aid; financially and academically. There are, however, many things that I have observed over the years as a college student, yet only one main concern, that I wish to address with you as the new leader of this great state. The reason that this is problem is a concern to me is because you seem to emphasize dearly about how you want to make kindergarten a premier level of academic excellence: one to rival all the states but I as a college student heard absolutely nothing about the issues that pertain to my generation. That is, the generation that currently occupies colleges and universities.

    It has come to my attention that when it comes to financial aid, the system is obviously flawed and needs revision; ultimately change. Now of course, I am not going to sit here and type up all of the statistics about the average debt of a graduating college student or the aggressive interest rates that loan firms impose on students because they simply do not have any other way to pay for school. Especially, since the majority of us perceive this to be our best and only option to take when we sit down with our school financial counselors. You, better than I, know that if we want to invest into our state’s economy, we have to encourage the populous to pursue a higher education so that they may reinvest and contribute to society. Throughout my tenure at Eastfield College, which was roughly 2 years before I transferred to SMU, I have noticed a flawed system of how aid is distributed to students. I will be using the college that I attended in Dallas County for my example. Below is the order of operations within the Dallas Community College District (DCCD) when a student applies and receives financial aid.

    1.) Student applies for finial aid through the government website. (FAFSA)
    2.) Student qualifies for a certain amount depending on all the factors that contribute to their economic status.
    [The maximum reward was $5,500 per year at Eastfield when I was a student there]
    3.)Student receives a DCCD Money Card to use HOWEVER they would like.

    If you did not understand where my concern is, then I will gladly break it down to a problem, conflict and solution statement.

    PROBLEM: In community colleges where tuition for a full-time student is only estimated to be about $800-$1,000 per semester; young students are rewarded with thousands of extra dollars above what is needed for their tuition and books. (i.e. $5,500.00). This is an issue that does not pertain to only north Texas but to one that reaches out to all of the state’s community colleges: which, in consequence, affect all academic institutions that use FAFSA. I have countlessly have seen friends, strangers and classmates misuse their grant money from their DCCD money card for inappropriate things. These include: leisure, entertainment, dining in at fancy restaurants, buying toys, designer clothes and even withdrawing money from the on-campus ATM to buy drugs because cash flow can’t be regulated or better stated, cash transactions are untraceable.

    CONFLICT: Those who qualify for rewards, claim that the extra money they are left with after paying for their classes is to compensate them for their financial hardships. Last time I checked, there are several, different non-academic programs that financially aid an individual when they have problems with their cost of living, such as the Texas Work Force(unemployment), EBT and WIC. Why is FAFSA funding financial necessities outside the classroom?

    SOLUTION: The government should only be financially funding aid towards a student’s tuition and books. Nothing more. How do we solve this problem? Grants and other rewards programs like the DCCD Money Card should only be able to make purchase transactions in two locations and be voided anywhere else. These locations are and include:

    1.) The colleges’ Cashier’s Office when paying for courses and
    2.)The Campus Bookstore for book-only transactions. Other in-store merchandise should not be valid.

    Lets not confuse FAFSA as a free handout and find a solution where, perhaps, ALL students in Texas who are enrolled full-time course semesters are covered with free tuition because the excess money that the government is throwing away on students to buy whatever they’d like could easily be recycled into paying other students’ tuition and books. Censor how grant money is being used and reward ALL student who take pursuing a higher education seriously. Since when did toys, designer clothes and miscellaneous items contribute to a student’s academic future. Find a way to make young Texans advance in academics by enticing them to enroll in tuition-free courses instead of granting them twice the money that they actually need. Every dollar that we recycle and save is a dollar we can reinvest into another student’s academic career. This, in consequence, will increase the frequency of students enrolling into college after high school, produce more associates and bachelors degrees for Texans, in comparison to the nation, create a higher occupancy of advanced position jobs and ultimately create a more educated populous that can help this Texan economy thrive throughout the ages. This is my vision, this is my Texas. Thank you.

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